


family secrets

by bugheadotp



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, More characters to be added, bughead investigations, jughead is a serpent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 18:26:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13082715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugheadotp/pseuds/bugheadotp
Summary: A/U:Boxes of Alice Cooper's past lead Betty and Jughead to the trailer park to investigate another mystery that includes FP Jones and Penny Peabody.





	family secrets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [forsytheloveselizabeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/forsytheloveselizabeth/gifts).



> This fic isn’t set in the current time frame that Riverdale is taking place.  
> The Black Hood doesn’t exist and Polly still lives with the Coopers’ but Jughead is still a serpent and attends Southside High. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> a massive thank you to Jandy for being an awesome beta.

Winter greeted Riverdale with a snowstorm and a thick layer of snow covered the streets. The town looked idyllic, like a greeting card at Christmas, and with the disused tracks covered in snow, there wasn’t a visible divide for now. It was December 1st, meaning the town had officially started decorating for the holidays and thanks to the cold weather, the school’s pipes had frozen so everyone was off school.

 

Betty Cooper was sitting next to her window, wrapped in a pale blue fleece blanket, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate to warm her up. The previous months had been a whirlwind, with her boyfriend now attending Southside High and being known as the  _ ‘Serpent Prince,’ _ Betty hadn’t seen Jughead since two weeks before Thanksgiving. 

 

Staring out at the Andrews’ house, she could see that Veronica was decorating the front porch with colorful lights and Archie was leaning against the front door, wearing a festive jumper smiling at his girlfriend.

 

The blonde was interrupted by a persistent knocking on the door downstairs. She wasn’t expecting anyone, her parents were away visiting Hal’s mother who was ill, and Polly was spending the day with Cheryl doing some last minute Christmas shopping. 

 

Looking through the peephole, Betty saw the familiar leather jacket and swung the door open quicker than her boyfriend could turn around. “You’re here,” she smiled.

 

Jughead faced her and smiled back, moving forward to wrap his arms around her. “I’ve missed you so much. I hate not being able to see you every day.”

 

“I know, Jug.” She leaned up to kiss him. He placed his hands on the small of her back, deepening the kiss. 

 

Resting his forehead on hers, he whispered against her lips, “How can I go so long without you?”

 

She kissed him again then pulled him inside, “Come in before we get cold,” she explained. “My parents are away for a couple of days, so you can come upstairs if you want.”

 

Jughead smirked, “You trying to get me in bed, Cooper?”

 

Feigning innocence, Betty dramatically replied, “Moi? I’m an innocent angel.”

 

“Really? You weren’t so innocent that time you had your lips -”

 

“Juggie!” she exclaimed, blushing then added with a whisper, “I’m still convinced my mom has this place bugged. Come on.” 

 

Betty took his hand and lead him to her room, which had changed significantly since he was last there. Boxes were stacked on top of each other, in the corner of her room, which Jughead was naturally drawn towards. “What’s all this, Betts?”

 

She joined him and opened the top box, pulling out a framed picture handing it to him. “Some of my mom’s stuff from when she was growing up,” Betty explained. “I haven’t gone through them yet. Mom took them down from the attic yesterday before she went away.” 

 

Jughead looked at the picture which was of six people sitting on top of a car, donning leather jackets and crooked smirks, immediately identifying his dad and Alice. Bringing the picture closer, he asked, “Are they wearing serpent jackets?” 

 

“What?” Betty took the picture and looked herself, “Oh my God! My mom was a serpent!? Do you know anyone else, Jug?”

 

Betty moved the frame between them and Jughead pointed to another blonde whom FP had his arm around. “That’s Penny Peabody, she’s a serpent and a lawyer.”

 

“Her and my mom look pretty cozy with your dad,” Betty pointed out. 

 

In the photo, FP had one arm wrapped around Penny’s shoulders, his other arm wrapped around Alice’s waist.

 

“Can we look through the other boxes?”

 

Betty nodded and picked up the top one, moving it to her bed as Jughead did the same with a couple more. 

  
  


 

An hour later, Betty’s bed was covered with the contents of the six boxes. She and Jughead and sorted everything into two piles, Serpents Stuff and Non-Serpent Stuff, the latter of which ended up back in the boxes. 

 

Amongst everything, they had found a Southside High yearbook, threaded multi-colored friendship bracelets, a silver snake ring, a photo album, some letters and a  _ very _ crushed leather jacket. 

 

“I can’t believe our parents actually liked each other,” Jughead said as he read through the yearbook. He and Betty were leaning against her headboard, her head resting on his shoulder. “Listen to this, Most Outspoken, Most Likely to Be Your Boss, and Class Activist all went to Alice Smith. My dad got Life of the Party and Worst Singer,” they both laughed. Jughead turned to the next page which had pictures from a dance. 

 

“I can’t believe all this, I always thought that our parents went to Riverdale High. Remember when FP said he’d overheard my mom and dad talking at prom?” Betty asked.

 

“I think everyone had to transfer to Riverdale after sophomore year, something to do with the school not being up to state standards, so it was like one last celebration.” The page consisted of three pictures of the school mid-dance. Turning to the next page, it was titled  _ ‘Southside High King and Queen’ _ with a picture of FP and Alice together on stage, smiling.

 

“No way,” Betty said grabbing the book from Jughead and sitting up straight. “No, no, no. Our parents didn’t date did they? I mean that could explain why they don’t like each other, or rather why my mom hates your dad.”

 

“Betty,” Jughead cut her off, “Breathe babe. I’m sure there’s a good reason for all of this.” He turned the page and pointed to another photo, one of FP dancing closely with another blonde, their lips almost touching. “See, that’s not your mom and my mom would have been a couple grades below him.” Jughead scanned the page before pointing to another photo that the blonde was in. “Look, she’s there with Alice but I can’t see her face.”

 

Betty jumped up and went to her desk where she pulled out a small magnifying glass. Cozying back up to Jughead, she noted the amused look on his face casually answering his unasked question. “It came with a  _ Nancy Drew Sleuth Kit _ that  _ you _ gave me for Christmas when I was eight.”

 

“God, I love you, Cooper,” Jughead said before turning back to the page and held the object close. “It kinda looks like Penny, what d’ya think, Betts?”

 

Betty looked and nodded before scanning the next couple of pages. She found a photo of Alice and Penny with their arms wrapped around each other in a tight embrace, “Look.”

 

“So our parents were best friends and my dad dated Penny Peabody.”

 

“Seems like it. I wonder why they stopped being friends?” Betty asked out loud before looking over at Jughead with a hopeful look in her eyes. 

  
Reading her mind, “You want us to solve another mystery, Cooper?” Biting her lip, Betty nodded. “What do I get out of it?” 

 

Betty raised one eyebrow and smiled. “Well, you remember that thing you were talking about earlier? With my lips?”

 

“Looks like Cooper and Jones are back on the case.”

  
  


 

Two hours, a (shared) shower, and a laundry load later, Betty and Jughead were back in her room, on fresh sheets, reading through the pile of letters that Alice had kept. Most were between her and her grandmother who lived out in Florida and could write several  _ long  _ pages at a time. 

 

The first letter with significance was between Alice and FP, from his first week at boot camp. He’d called her Allie and guessing from the date in the top corner, it had arrived around her birthday. FP wasn’t known for his words but in his letter, expressed his love and gratitude to her and her family for all that they’d done for him. If not for a brief mention of Penny, someone reading the letter could easily guess that it was one between a boyfriend and girlfriend. 

 

FP had only been allowed to write one letter and had chosen Alice, his best friend, instead of Penny, his girlfriend. 

 

“This all feels like one of those teen dramas,” Jughead said as he read through more letters. They had split the pile between them, writing down anything of significance in a blue notebook.  

 

“I’ve found something,” Betty said scribbling in the book. “Look,” she pointed to Jughead. “This is from Penny to my mom. She wrote  _ ‘Junior called me today and I know I promised you that I’d tell him but we had an actual conversation, not just mumbles and one syllable responses. The next time he calls Allie, I’ll be 3 months and I’ll tell him then. I promise.’ _ The next letter was dated a month later Juggie, listen to this.  _ ‘Junior and I talked again, he said we should break up, that the Southside wasn’t a place that I should stay in. I didn’t argue with him, Allie. My aunt told me I could stay with her so this is goodbye.’” _

 

“Wow,” Jughead said taking it all in. 

 

“I think we need to ask Penny for her side of things, Jug.”

 

“Betts no-”

 

“Jughead we have too,” she cut him off. “Junior’s got to be your dad right? That’s who Penny was dating.” Betty’s voice softened, “Juggie, you might have a brother or sister out there.”

 

“I’ll go by myself,” he emphasized. ”I don’t want you on the Southside, not with everything that’s been going on lately.”

 

“This isn’t a debate Jughead. I  _ am _ going with you and don’t think you can sweet talk your way out of this.”

 

“I’m trying to protect you, Betty, why can’t you understand that?” he replied, voice rising slightly.

 

“I am my own person, I decide what I want to do and I want to go with you. No, I  _ will  _ be going with you. Besides, why is it okay for you to be in the Northside then?”

 

Sighing, he took her hands in his and rubbed the back of them with his thumbs. “I just, I don’t want anything to happen to you. You mean too much to me and I can’t think about my life without you in it anymore.”

 

Betty leaned and kissed him. “Jughead, I love you and that means I love everything that’s molding you into who you are. I may not like some of the things that you do but, I’m here to stay. Plus, investigating is our thing. What kind of partner would I be if I let you go by yourself?”

 

He smiled, “I really don’t deserve you Betty Cooper.”

 

One final kiss was shared. Betty told Jughead to wait downstairs whilst she changed into some warmer clothing and the two left.

  
  
  


The wa lk to the Southside took longer than normal due to Jughead almost falling over, twice, on icy sidewalk. He wrapped his arm around Betty’s shoulders as she huddled into him for warmth, gripping onto each other for balance.

 

Penny lived in a bigger trailer towards the back of the park and the pathway was only illuminated by the lights from the other trailers. The wooden stairs that led to the door had the snow kicked to one side leaving a clear path.

 

Jughead went first and knocked three times, moving back to the top step to let the door swing open. Penny stood there in plaid pajama bottoms and a white tank top and crossed her arms over her chest sighing, “What do you kids what?”

 

Before Jughead had the chance to speak, Betty moved to stand on the step next to him, “We need to talk.”

 

Penny scoffed, “I have nothing to say to you. Now, leave.”

 

Betty grabbed the door before it could be closed, “We know about you and FP. That you were pregnant with his baby.”

 

The older lady’s eyes widened, a long pause before she nodded slowly, “You better come in then.”

 

They walked in and Penny indicated for them to sit down. There was nothing personal on display, no photos, nothing on the fridge. 

 

“So, how much do you know?” Penny asked sitting down on the couch, taking a swig from the beer bottle that was on the table in front of her.

 

“We found some old things that belong to my mom,” Betty started. “She was a serpent with you?”

 

Penny smiled and nodded, stretching out her arm that indicated for them to sit down opposite. “Allie was a firecracker for sure. We were best friends, us and your father, Jughead. FP and I started dating in eighth grade I think and sure we had our ups and downs but were together until the end of high school. The three of us were initiated at the same time and FP wasn’t having any of the misogynistic pole dancing bullshit that Allie and I were supposed to do and because he was a serpent legacy, they were willing to bend the rules for us.”

 

“What did you have to do then?” Jughead asked.

 

“Twice the shit everyone else had to do, that’s for sure.”

 

“Why weren’t you crowned Southside High Queen? Why was my mom with FP?” Betty asked, her leg bouncing up and down with anxiousness. 

 

“Allie and FP ruled that school, no one could get between them. For a long time, I thought your dad was just with me to spite her or something, people always assumed they were a couple and they were a pretty unbeatable duo.”

 

“Not that I don’t appreciate the trip down memory lane, Penny, but can we get to the part where you were pregnant with my brother or sister please?” 

 

“Fine but I’m gonna need something stronger than this,” she said lifting up her beer bottle. “You kids want anything?” Betty and Jughead shook their heads no. 

 

Penny downed two shots before returning to the couch holding a tumbler of whiskey. “FP and I were had more of an on/off relationship after school, more off than on. We’d hooked up just before he’d left to go to basic training and whenev er he’d come home to visit. Allie had got a scholarship to a fancy college in Chicago and moved away, then she got an internship and stayed away longer. One Christmas, FP came home to surprise everyone and two months later, I found out I was pregnant. Whenever I tried to bring up our future together, he never wanted to talk about it. We weren’t officially together at the time so I thought it best if I leave, he wouldn’t know and wouldn’t be tied down to me.”

 

She glanced up to see that Betty had moved closer to Jughead and was holding his hand and smiled at the thought of young love. “So you just left?” the young boy asked.

 

Penny smiled sadly, “Yeah I did. I told FP that I was leaving and going to live with my aunt and he didn’t really care -”

 

“Wait,” Betty interrupted. “You broke up with FP? In your letter to my mom, you said he broke up with you.”

 

“Yeah, “she sighed. “I lied to her. Allie really wanted me to tell him and I knew that if she thought that he’d broken up with me, she wouldn’t speak to him again.”

 

“So instead you broke up a friendship?”

 

Penny nodded slowly, “I didn’t think she would turn against him completely, that’s low even for her. When I came back with Seb, he was 18 months and I’d convinced myself that I was going to see FP, tell him about everything when I saw him with Gladys when she was pregnant with you.”

 

“He?” Jughead said cutting her off. “I have a brother?” He stood up. “My dad has another son and doesn’t even know about him? What the fuck Penny?”

 

“Jug-” Betty tried to stop him but Penny waved her hand for her not to speak.

 

“It’s fine, Cooper.” Penny stood up. “Jughead, you have to see it from my point of view. He didn’t even have a steady job and was struggling to look after your mom, how was he going to support two children  _ and  _ your mom on a shitty income?”

 

“Juggie, please sit down,” Betty said in a quiet voice.

 

He collapsed back into his place, running his hands through his hair. “I just can’t believe it.”

 

Penny sat back down and silence engulfed the room for a few moments, only to be broken by the jangling of keys in the trailer’s lock. The two teens couldn’t see the door from where they were and heard a male voice say, “It’s only me, Ma.”

 

Jughead’s head snapped up to look at Betty and the two stood up as the voice got louder. 

 

“Ma, you here?” the voice said again. 

 

“Yeah, I’m in the living room, Seb. I have something to talk to you about.”

 

_ ‘Seb’  _ walked in, his head down as he was reading his phone. “Ma, you won’t believe this, I-”

 

He was cut off by Jughead gasping as he realized who had just walked in, “Sweet Pea?”

**Author's Note:**

> dun dun dun!
> 
> i went with the third prompt which was _"Jughead and Betty find out Sweet Pea is the son of Penny Peabody and FP Jones."_


End file.
